Saudi Arabian Airlines Beware and true Facts
 

To All Pilots that are planning to answer the recent full page advert in Flight for Capts at Saudia for B777, A320, A330 and EMD 170/90 crew.

The advert and what is listed at what you will get for pay and benefits is true lies!!! If you are selected for interview it will be either in JED, Cairo or in Europe probably Paris and you will be told that your flight and expenses will be reembursed. Mr B K, HR Rep will send a letter guarenteeing this, but this too is true lies. This money will never be reembursed as mine never was.

As for when you arrive and be interviewed and accepted, you will be on your own money for months until your first pay starts and the process will never be explained to you and it will drive you crazy!!!
As for people they have hired in the recent past, well it is amazing that they pride them self on hiring the best, but in my class of 12 only 2 are left in less then 1 year and the ones left

So, get on at Saudia and them take them for a ride and use the system to take them for a ride. As it is not enjoyable there and the locals don;t want you there, so get them before they get you!!!
If you need other details get in touch. Saudia is the worse in the ME to work for and definetly don't listen to the MUTT responses.

MUTT is, IMHO, one of the most sober and factual guys on this site, and he is the only one I trust when it comes to facts about working in SA.
For the rest of your rant, well, I wait for MUTT to comment.

Zero, you are a little sad man...:hmm:
Have been around for 13 years and would have done it again if someone rolls time back to 1999.
Sure, it's nice to be a senior captain with a western flag carrier. But, if you are not, then Saudia is a good place to be. I survived two major downturns here, earned tonnes of $ and had a very vibrant life. Well, you have to accept some local particularities and be patient to see you basic salary and benefits high enough to completely forget you first year impression. If you can not, then... you are a little sad man:hmm:

You are not from the West are you?

Why did you feel the need to spread rumors about a western Captain and possible bootlegging? Why did you feel the need to mention the Wednesday night club? Do you really think no Westerner has ever made booze here before? What do you care??

Are you trying to make life harder for the Westerners that actually do live and work here?

All of these things have happened for decades here. The locals turn a blind eye as long as it is not thrown in their face.

As for your comments about smoking the "stuff". I have only seen Arab nationals in the compound smoking the "stuff".

You really are the one with the questionable character. Outing people by name on this site because you were not happy with your employment decisions.

***hole

Considering that the person mentioned is extremely hospitable, I’m sure that you as a classmate enjoyed some of that hospitality, and yet here you are spreading “incorrect truths” about him. Then you start complaining that other colleagues are going home on medical and emergency leave but continue to get paid, all you are achieving is that you are making life difficult for the next guy who really NEEDS to go home for medical……..

The part about the interview ticket etc, we have been warning people about that for the last 3 years on this site, so there is no point in you crying about it now.

Your post says more about your lack of character than the company!

Mutt

Mr. Zero sounds exactly like his name, i worked with saudia for 12 very short years and i love every minute of it truly speaking i regret leaving such a nice employer and great colleagues with whom i enjoyed working and thats why when ever somebody ask me how long have you worked for saudia my answer always is "12 short years"

My, you really are a little pussy!

Perhaps you are from a well known 3rd world country that prides itself on the ability to kiss @ss, whereas most of us from the west recognize job security is directly related to COMPETENCE!

Here's the true facts. Bid your schedule, fly that schedule, get out of Jeddah on days off, save your money and join long list pilots who funded their retirements in 20 years or less at Saudia.

Of course, this advice is for men, which kinda leaves you out!

Of course he can vent about the company, in fact the more people who do tell the truth makes it better for anyone else who intends to join, I would actually encourage all new hires to post here every 6 months or so..... :):)

BUT the original message was edited by a moderator, what you didn't see and what others were replying to, was that MrZero personally attacked and NAMED one of his class mates and accused him of certain illegal acts, he also went on to attack others for their actions, one of them might actually be you!

So you see, if he attacked the company, we dont care...... but attacking his colleagues, thats is pretty nasty.

Mutt

Wow!
 

Mr Zero This is no way of venting out your frustration, lets be honest guys. The world in not perfect.
Yes Saudia is an airline with its short falls and It will be like that for the rest of eternity its up to you "HE WHO WANTS TO WORK" to decide whether to join saudia or not.

Saudia Pays its employees on time every month and this will not change either, they do get late in paying overtime etc... but never has it ever happened that the concerned person didnt get paid.

As for Mr B K, I am yet to come across a human being as accomodating and helpful as him, keeping in mind that he single handedly recruits the entire airlines FDC. One should not forget he is just human, not some superhero from Marvel comics. As with other things I think every Pilot thinking of working with Saudia should know that, BK is also an expat and does not have control on finances and other departments which are handled by The Saudi's who for a Fact only work 30 minutes in an 8 hour workday.:ugh:
That btw goes for pretty much all the departments at Saudia and even some other organistations.

Therefore for those who want to work in KSA then face it !

Or Else go to ................EK ........EY............the list goes on !

Just to back up what Mutt said above.

The angry replies were to the accusations and personal tone the OP took with his original posting, before it was edited.

There is plenty to vent about at SVA, I just see no need to try and take down other people with unwarranted accusations.

I went for an interview with Saudia in Paris last year and I was reimbersed to the penny. Cash in an envelope including coins!

Saudia Assesment on the 8th, March
 

Dear Captain's,

Greetings, is anyone attending the screening for Saudia on the 8th of March in Cairo?

Kind Regards

well i did my interview with Saudia in two parts (December and February). 12 days after my DEC assessment they sent the money in my account . for the February assessment they asked whether i need them within the next days or a total reimbursement at my starting date (April) along with some other expenses ( Medical exams for Visa etc). I went with option #2 and as i have been told from guys who already work fro SV there is absolutely no reason to worry

You are replying to a thread from 2012, and to be fair to MrZero there was a problem back then due to administrative ineptitude.

Hello alloha
 

Just read your post regarding Saudia I have an assessment in May, can you give some info about assessment thanks

Hmm. I don't think so!
 

It's an Arab country, with radical laws, no rights for women, a weird religion and horrible weather. They must pay well to put up with that.

I'll tell my educated, very intellectual and very independent liberal european wife that we are moving to the middle east to live in a compound. LOL I'll tell you later how that went. LOL

Hi guys,

I have been trying to aply to Saudia but everytime I try to log in it says I already have an account I have tried with 3 different e-mails I have tried to retrieve my password with 3 different e-mails and still it just says " the info you have entered is incorrect" my soul is broken trying to apply ha, can someone give an inside e-mail address i can e-mail to try resolve this issue or even a phone number to call them...? the PPJN number is out dated now,

Thanks Gents

Also can you commute home working with Saudia? what are the blocks of offs like?

Saudi application
 

I was sent an application form by Saudi direct entry Captain on the Embraer 170. Any info what happens next are they actively looking crews and what to expect next. Thanks in advance

Scheduled to be withdrawn from service next year, are they still recruiting for it?

Chirpy Pilot
 

I am not sure about E170 but in general, responding back to applicants is a sign of serious need of experience such as yours. Once they get your application they will call you for 3-4 days screening. it consists 50 questions of ATPL and 10 questions general knowledge written tests, panel interview, and medical check. Some 4 weeks later they inform candidates the result. You must get employment visa from Saudi Embassy in your country of citizenship, not country of residence. Plan ahead. Obtaining medical report for the embassy may take time.

Best of luck!

I assume they must be recruiting still on it, I sent a general enquiry, got an application form filled it in and sent it. Will see what happens!

So has anybody else had issues with the online application through the SA website... seems to be a dead link?
Whats the best way send make comms?

Saudiairlines stole my money...after the interview they supposed pay my tickets but they didn't...how that happened !...

It's not theft. It's "lazy incompetence". Send me a PM, then wait a few days and I'll try to get you an e-mail address to request the money back. Then wait 3-4 months and magically it will suddenly be in your account.

A bit more news on SVA's "concern" for their pilots
 

Captain Khalid Mattar - An airline captain with Saudi Arabian Airlines died of a heart attack which began while on his flight from Jeddah to Dammam yesterday on 05 March 2011 following operational and medical negligence. He passed away yesterday at 12:50 at AlManna Hospital in the Eastern Province. His death was due to Saudi Arabian Airlines negligence, both operationally and medically.

His body arrived in Jeddah on board SV1115 today at 6:00pm; he will be buried tomorrow morning at Fajr in Makkah Insh Allah.

He was 36 years old and has a wife and five children. The funeral 'Azza' will be held in Jeddah at the intersection of Al Tahlia and Makarona streets.

Following a very stressful discussion with the Chief Operations Officer Abdulrahman AlMahboub of Saudi Arabian Airlines at the Flight Operations building at KAIA in Jeddah, Captain Mattar began his flight duty and proceeded to dispatch where he reviewed the flight documents, reviewed the weather, requirements and aircraft status.

The flight he was operating was scheduled to go from Jeddah to Dammam. The takeoff proceeded normally and en route to Dammam Captain Mattar advised the First Officer he was feeling pain in his chest and that he required medical assistance. The First Officer contacted Dammam Air Traffic Control and the Saudi Arabian Airlines Operations advising that medical assistance was required.

When the aircraft landed there was a delay for the medical assistance (even though they were advised of the situation). Following the delay of medical assistance at KFIA airport at Dammam the Captain was carried away in a stretcher. A doctor at the airport checked him and advised that he was OK and just needed to rest. Based on this Captain Mattar was sent to the Sheraton Hotel where he could rest.

(Based on the symptoms and situation the doctor's diagnosis was grossly negligent. The doctor could not positively say he was OK without further medical tests being done, at least an ECG, and the situation should have resulted in giving oxygen and medication while under medical observation).

After arriving at the Sheraton hotel Captain Mattar knew he was not well and requested to proceed to a hospital for medical treatment. He was transported to Tadawi General Hosptial in Dammam. Upon arriving at the hospital Captain Mattar was already immobile and the driver tried to get him out.

Tadawi General Hospital refused to accept Captain Mattar because as they stated 'Saudi Arabian Airlines has some past due bills with the hospital for which they had not been reimbursed and therefore would not admit him'.

Precious time was being wasted trying to get him critical medical care. Pleading with the hospital to accept him because he was dying was ignored and he was taken again through the streets of Dammam to Al Mana General Hospitals. Again, the hospital initially refused to accept the Captain because as they stated 'he has no medical insurance'.

The Sheraton Hotel contacted Al Mana hospital and pleaded with them to please accept the Captain and to charge it to the Sheraton Hotel. Captain Khalid Mattar died at the hospital and was pronounced dead just after midnight.


His family can be reached for confirmation of all these details at:
05054231067 (father of Captain Khalid Mattar)
0531599973 (Ali Mattar - brother)


اخواني الاعزاء سيصل الجثمان الساعة 6 مسا عن طريق الشحن و سيغسل بعد المغرب في مسجد اللامي ..... الدفن غدا الاثنين يصلى علية في المسجد الحرم بمكةفجرا.. صلاة الفجر ..ويرى الجثمان في المعلا... العزاء في جدة تقاطع التحلية مع المكرونة
تلفون والدة 05054231067
تلفون اخوة مساعد طيار علي مطر 0531599973‬

The fact that emergency medical care was denied while Captain Mattar was having a heart attack is a serious matter. This must be looked at with the hospitals and with the Ministry of Health.

The fact that Saudi Arabian Airlines does not provide appropriate medical coverage to its crew while they are away from Jeddah is another serious issue, in fact it is a violation of many laws of the countries the crew operate to.

Regardless of what may be said Saudi Arabian Airlines does not even provide coverage to their employees or the immediate families of employees who are out of the country and may need emergency treatment. Some people may get the medical treatment paid for by the company if they know someone at Corporate Head Quarters or at Saudia Medical management but for most employees or their families they must pay for any emergency medical treatment from their own funds and make a claim when they get back to Jeddah.

Medical coverage at Saudi Arabian Airlines is seriously lacking for an employer whose motto states "...a caring employer...".

The fact is that Saudia provides FULL medical coverage for its employees while abroad. And there is no doubt about that. At the hotels there is always doctor on call . We can discuss for the incompetence of the doctor or negligence or whatever you wanna call it but Medical coverage is not an issue. The Saudia station abroad will even pay the taxi ride to the hospital. 2 times so far while was abroad a crew member was in need for doctor and hospital transfer and everything was taken care

I believe this is the second fatality of a Saudi pilot in under 3 weeks. The first being a Captain at the controls of an A 320.

05 March 2011

3 weeks or 5 years?

yah...thought that was a while ago...

The last fatality was 2 months ago a domestic flight out of Ruh. Soon after take off tha newly apointed captain suffered a heart attack

Cancelled health insurance
 

The FACT is the new DG for SVA cancelled the United health insurance for pilots and pilots' families living outside KSA, contradicting the benefits outlined in the job intro letter. This was verified by the head of insurance. You are NOT covered by Gulfmed outside KSA, and have to put money down upfront for any medical issues outside the kingdom while not on duty. The insurance board then reviews the bills and places a cap on reimbursement to basically what it would cost to have the procedure performed in the kingdom. Be VERY careful about working for SVA...

Two local 777 skippers have been hospitalised that I can think of this year.
One ended up in a comma in Manila and the more recent one collapsed in Operations/briefing prior to departure.
Both were on back to back Manila/KSA/USA pairings.

Yup, dropped the catch there. It's 5 years, not 3 weeks.

@ULR777

Don't know if you fly for Saudia but some of your comments are totally wrong.

1) yes they have their way in doing things. I guess you have your own way in your house (don't forget,it's their company 70 years old. It's not a company based and run by expat managers with 15-20 years of establishment). Really if u didn't know that before you join SV then it's all your fault

2)yes there is no guidance for getting your id and iqamas etc but it's a no brainier .within 2-3 days you got everything you need .as you said people are friendly and helpful

3) I don't know what is your bank but with Saudia's certificate I had my account opened and cash cards and credit cards issued within one hour. After one year you are eligible for a loan with 1% interest

4) Training it's all about acting. Many average people checked on line because of the right attitude. Make them feel important use a lot of "YES SIR " "YOU ARE RIGHT SIR" (even if he is not ) and everything will be ok. On the other hand I know some excellent pilots who failed cause they did the exact opposite thing. They tried to demonstrate their knowledge,criticized the system etc etc and they got axed
Training syllabus was followed 100% . Line training instructors are very experienced and 90% of them are very easy come easy going people.Again it's a little bit of acting.
Yes training takes a long but you still got your salary and you are free to go back home. I did it 3 times
5) housing is the biggest problem.the waiting list is approaching 150 people now and there people with almost a year in the company that still live in the hotel

All in all if you got respect in their way of living and their habits and you are an average actor during training u got very good chances of get your self in line

ULR777 , you are 100% correct & a helping hand to prospective joiners in your description. Whereas aloha has simply argued for the sake of argument ( interestingly most of the times he has further supported ULRs points). This airline is simply if you want to earn $$$ in a short span. For long term at least f/o's should forget about command. Ideal for narrow body guyz with unknown lo cost airlines to gain wide body experience. We have quite a few crap guyz flying with some really non professional attitudes and weak flying skills in their background but still surviving. Their luck...

What happened to ULR777's post?

As for Whatever gave them the impression that they would get command at all? Havent we said that due to their seniority numbers they would be waiting at least 10-15 years? And even then the company might keep bringing in direct hires to the left seat.

ULR777 deleted his own post, citing that he felt it was hopeless to post information on the thread, simply to be shot down by other users. 4HP

I have a sneaky suspicion that the contracting F/O's, who have been told their command would come after one contract, will be offered command at the new low cost. I don't see another option for the company to fulfill the promises which they have made.

Ha ha ha...do you think they'll keep up their words ?!

I don't know but they need a lot of Captains from somewhere??? I don't think that the Saudi's will be interested.

That's true, but time has the answer. Besides low oil price is a big concern.